Through the Years
by sweetporcelainhummel
Summary: Read as we follow Quinn and Rachel through their years of school. We can see their friendship evolve, or collapse and so on. Not all chapter will be K plus.


Kindergarten can be a scary place for most children, much like preschool. You are dropped off at the building and left alone with strangers whom have the weirdest smiles you could have never dreamed of. Some teachers tend to overdose their face with makeup, making them look very.. Uh.. different. And you thought clowns were bad.

The moment you let go of your parents hand, any sense of comfort or warmth was left behind. Gone. That is, of course, until you find yourself getting back into the car and leaving the building. That's when the children are at their happiest. All except for young Quinn Fabray.

Quinn never quite had the best time in her home. Even at such a young age, she could tell the difference between something or someone she should avoid or confront. Home was something she'd rather avoid.

It was simply the first day of Kindergarten. Quinn had arrived early with her parents. Her teacher, Mrs. Kay, directed her to the blue chair she was to sit in everyday. The room where her classes would be held. The walls were colored white with the ABCs going around the top of the room. There were many, many, posters. The one above the sink read _'Wash your hands, we don't want to spread germs' _with a picture of a regular cartoon character smiling, and washing his hands. It was supposedly there to set an example for them. Another over the painting supply area read _'Remember to clean up' _with a picture of a purple dinosaur or Barney.

Six tables were set around the room in a circle; So everyone would be able to see everything that happened in the class. Each chair, all of different colors, were pushed in underneath the table. It was your typical Kindergarten classroom.

Quinn sat in the blue chair, feet dangling. No one else was in the room except for her parents, whom were leaning against the back wall, talking, and Mrs. Kay, whom was standing in the hallway, trying to help children find their teacher.

Quinn sat quietly, not knowing what to do without some sort of direction. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a dark haired girl walking through the door, holding her father's hand. She didn't seem to want to let go.

Rachel was scared to start Kindergarten, regardless of how talented, and smart she was, she knew the other kids would not like her. Her father tried to get her to explore the room without him. Just for a moment. He leaned down, bringing his nose to her. "Rachel," he practically whispered, though Rachel was able to hear and understand every word he said. "You are the most amazing, most talented, most wonderful, person I have ever known. You don't need to be scared." Leroy smiled. "I promise, I will be there for you when you need me, but this is a magical journey you must start without me." He ran a hand through her hair and nuzzled her nose. "Why don't you go introduce yourself to the kind person over there?" he asked, gesturing towards Quinn.

Quinn looked over at Rachel, though she didn't make it obvious. She wondered what the two were talking about and why the strange man pointed to her. The dark haired girl walked over towards Quinn with a confident vibe flowing out of her. She neared Quinn.

"Rachel. Rachel Berry. What's your name?" Rachel asked.

Quinn looked the girl up and down. Knowing she had nothing better to do, she turned in her seat to face Rachel. "Quinn Fabray."

Rachel held out her hand. Quinn raised her eyebrows to a perfect arch. Did this person really expect them to shake hands? She stared at her petty clothes and rolled her eyes. "I'm sorry, Rachel," she said, stressing the name. "I'm not allowed to touch strangers with cooties."

The dark haired girl stared at her with wide eyes, wondering how she could possibly be so rude. "That's not nice," she mumbled.

Quinn turned to face the front. "I know."

* * *

><p>In the back of the room, Leroy and Quinn's parents were conversing in the back. They were laughing and smiling while Rachel was sitting as far away from Quinn as possible. She felt so lonely, but that's nothing humming can't fix.<p>

Quinn heard the humming from where she was sitting which was about ten seats down. She found a small ball of paper that Mrs. Kay must have overlooked the first time. She threw it at Rachel's head. "Shut up," she said.

Rachel stood up from her chair furiously. "That's a bad word, for one. And you shouldn't throw paper!" She picked up the paper and marched to the trash can to throw it away. She approached Quinn's seat to scold her.

Quinn stood to match Rachel's height, her blonde hair moving gracefully. "Don't tell me what to do," she said, pushing Rachel back, making her stumbled and fall. By this time, more children had filled in the seats. Some of their parents left while only a few remained. Quinn's mother ran over to Quinn and grabbed her by the scruff of her neck.

"I'm sorry," Judy, Quinn's mom, apologized to both Rachel and Leroy. She dragged Quinn out of the room.

Leroy helped Rachel up and held her hand, guiding her back with him to the wall. He continued picked Rachel up and continued to talk to Mr. Fabray.

"I'm so sorry," Russel said to Rachel in a caring way. "Quinn can be..."

"No need to go on," Leroy said. He shifted his Rachel, balancing her on his hip.

"Hey," Russel said. "Maybe we should have dinner and maybe the kids will get to know each other better. Maybe they won't fight on a daily basis," He smirked.

Leroy perked up at the idea. "That sounds wonderful. I bet Rachel would love to have someone over to play with." He ruffled Rachel's hair.

"NO!" Rachel yelled.

"But Rachel.. That's not nice," Leroy stated.

"NO!"

Leroy began to put Rachel on the floor. It was a trick he usually used when she was being stubborn. Rachel wanted to stay in his arms, so she scrambled up his body and stayed on his shoulders. "I'm sowwy," she mumbled.

"It's fine," Leroy smiled, holding her in his arms again. He nuzzled her nose. "Dinner would be at our home," he said, looking up at Russel.

* * *

><p>Quinn hadn't a clue as to where they were heading on a Saturday night. All she knew was there was a movie she wanted to see on the TV and she wasn't sitting in front of it right now. She cried during the whole car ride and kicked the back of her mom's seat in the car. They tried to calm her, but it was no use.<p>

Judy dragged Quinn all the way to the front door of the Berry house. Russel knocked on the door loudly. He was becoming irritated from all of the crying Quinn was doing. He couldn't help but roll his eyes.

The door to the house was opened by Leroy. Standing behind him was Rachel, trying to hide behind his leg. Leroy dug in his pocket for a moment and found a small root beet sucker. He offered it to Quinn whom willing took it and put it in her mouth immediately. She stopped crying. Everyone let out a sigh of relief when the crying stopped.

"Rachel, why don't you take Quinn up to your room?" Leroy asked nicely.

Rachel folded her arms into her chest. "I'm only doing this because I'm nice," she said. The adults laughed at the young girl's comment. Rachel took Quinn's hand in hers and climbed up the stairs to her room. Quinn didn't notice her hand was being held by Germy Berry because she was so enticed by the sucker. Rachel pushed open the heavy door and closed it after Quinn.

Quinn's sucker fell out of her mouth and onto the carpet. Of course, Rachel became angry. She went into the bathroom and came back out with a towel, wondering if this would get it cleaned. Quinn simply laughed at Rachel for she had to clean the mess up, but she soon realized she no longer had a sucker. Quinn went to the corner of the room and cried.

For a while, they stayed in their own world. Quinn laid on her back in the corner, her eyes were red and Rachel hummed as the music played on her radio. No one was ready to play nice, especially after what happened in school yesterday. Quinn set up a whole alliance. They threw their lunch at Rachel, leaving her dripping in unknown substances. The person who helped her clean up was her new friend name Mercedes Jones. She was still very mad about her sweater which she had to get rid of.

They stayed quiet, even at dinner. Both were filled with joy when it was time for Quinn to leave.

Quinn accidentally tripped Rachel on the way out. Yes, a real accident. She apologized quietly, but neither of the parents heard her. Her dad pulled her aside to another room and began to yell, making Quinn cry harder than before. Rachel felt bad for her regardless of the things she's done to her since the first day of school. She went to her toy box and pulled out a small, fluffy, brown teddy bear.

Rachel held this teddy bear behind her back and returned to the door where Quinn was almost fully outside, still sobbing. She tapped the blonde haired girl on the shoulder. "Quinn..."

Quinn turned around only to see Rachel holding out a teddy bear for her. She didn't know why. After all, she was being quite mean to her. She reluctantly took the teddy bear in her hands. She looked down at it, then back at Rachel. She walked closer to her. Rachel though for sure she was going to get hurt and flinched. But Quinn had other plans.

Quinn gave Rachel a small hug, wrapping her arms around her neck. "Thank you, Rachel," she said. She waved goodbye, leaving Rachel and her family to themselves.

* * *

><p>The rest of the year went quite smoothly for Rachel. Quinn hadn't tried anything funny with her. It was the last class of the day, art. Quinn sat on her side of the room and Rachel sat on hers. She felt slightly uncomfortable with the way Quinn glared at her. She wasn't sure whether to be happy or scared.<p>

Mrs. Kay clapped her hands together to get the attention of the kindergarteners. "OKAY!" she yelled. "That's enough talking. If I have to raise my voice again..." she trailed off letting their wild imagination take them far. When they became quiet, she continued. "Macaroni art is a great way to end this week. Create whatever you'd like! This is free art time!" Mrs. Kay yelled, throwing her hands up in the air. The children mimicked her with glee.

Rachel made a microphone without knowing what she really made. She didn't try to, she just put the macaroni pieces wherever they looked right. Mrs. Kay praised her for actually making a realistic object ,unlike her fellow classmates.

At the end of class, Rachel helped Mrs. Kay clean up while everyone else left to go home, though Quinn was still sitting in her seat, working.

Rachel walked towards her. "It's time to go," she said cheerfully.

"I need to finish this," Quinn mumbled.

"Finish at home?" Rachel suggested.

"I can't."

Rachel wondered what could possibly be so important that she had to stay ten minutes after school to finish. Especially since it was the last day of school. She expected Quinn to run down the hallway cheering. She carefully took the art in hand.

"NO! GIMME!" Quinn yelled, scrambling for the paper, but Rachel put up a fair fight.

The dark haired girl immediately recognized what the macaroni spelled out. _'Rachel Shines Bright'. _She stared at Quinn in amazement. "Why?" She asked.

Quinn rolled her eyes. "It's for you. Because of the bear.." Quinn said growing quiet. "Keep it.."

Quinn walked out of the classroom and found her mom. She went home with a feeling of embarrassment. At least it would be the last time she saw Rachel since she would be home schooled from that point on.

Rachel hugged the macaroni art to her chest. No one from school has done something so nice for her, which is why Rachel went home and hung it on the refrigerator for all to see.


End file.
